MSU Grad Ryan Riess One Of Final Two In World Series Of Poker, Up For $8.3 Million Prize

Cheered on as usual by family and friends in “Riess the Beast” T-shirts, Michigan State graduate Ryan Riess advanced Monday night to be one of the last two standing in the World Series of Poker. If he wins one more time, the $8.3 million prize will belong to the Michigan native.

“Everyone was playing really solid and the cards ran my way today,” Riess said after play ended. “It worked exactly like I envisioned it. I was kind of thinking it would be me and Farber.”

In the finale the 23-year-old Riess will face Jay Farber, a self-described “VIP Host, Poker player, degenerate gambler,” according to his Twitter. Farber will enter with 105,000,000 chips, while Riess will start with 85,675,000.

Reiss has worn Michigan State gear throughout the tournament, but Monday he represented the Detroit Lions – specifically superstar receiver Calvin Johnson, who had an NFL-record 329 receiving yards in the Lions’ game against Dallas.